Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has committed his government to turning around the economy after years of deflation.

“This increase will be a peak for now,” said Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance. “Inflation so far has been driven by increased costs for fuel, etcetera, but prices for goods weren’t rising broadly.”

Core CPI “will probably move in the 0.8%-0.9% range through the beginning of next year, but once turmoil in Syria and Egypt that has kept oil prices up calms down, it could even fall again,” said Hidenobu Tokuda, an economist at Mizuho Research Institute.

When energy and food are excluded from core CPI – giving “core core CPI” – prices fell for the 56th straight month in August. Economists say that getting prices of everyday expenses like rent and karaoke to rise requires stimulating demand from consumers through higher wages – an unlikely prospect with Japanese companies trying to cut costs instead.

The government has pressed companies to raise wages, but politicians acknowledge there’s little they can do.

“We are a democratic country, so we cannot compel companies” to offer raises, Economy Minister Akira Amari said Friday. But he didn’t seem to think further price rises were a lost cause.

The rise in CPI indicates “the economy is in the process of exiting deflation,” he said after the data release.

About Japan Real Time

Japan Real Time is a newsy, concise guide to what works, what doesn’t and why in the one-time poster child for Asian development, as it struggles to keep pace with faster-growing neighbors while competing with Europe for Michelin-rated restaurants. Drawing on the expertise of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, the site provides an inside track on business, politics and lifestyle in Japan as it comes to terms with being overtaken by China as the world’s second-biggest economy. You can contact the editors at japanrealtime@wsj.com